Divine Art launches series for top Russian composer

In 2017 Divine Art released two discs containing music by Vyacheslav Artyomov, regarded by many as the foremost composer in Russia today. His orchestral and chamber works display a totally individual voice yet informed and inspired by such as Mahler, Scriabin and Messiaen, and also imbued with a deep sense of spirituality – and a searching for a better world. Following the success and critical acclaim for these two albums, Divine Art has obtained rights from Melodiya in Russia and from the composer’s archive to release a series of seven albums of Artyomov’s music, which will be released over the next 12 months (in CD and digital formats); the recordings were made at various times over the last 20 years and are to be remastered for the new issue – yet hardly any of them were available previously in the West.

Artyomov’s works have been nominated for many prizes in Russia and the USA; several books have been written about him and his music has been commissioned and premiered by some of the biggest names in Russian music including the composer’s good friend Mstislav Rostropovich, and Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Mikhail Pletnev and many more.

The existing albums (catalog numbers dda 25143 and dda 25144) each include one Symphony from Artyomov’s epic cycle ‘Symphony of the Way’ – and the other two are in the forthcoming releases.

II Divine Art DDA 25171 to be released on 15 June 2018
Symphony – The Way to Olympus (part of the Symphony of the Way cycle)USSR State Symphony Orchestra conducted by T. MinbayevGurian HymnMoscow Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Dmitri KitaenkoPreludes to SonnetsAnton Bagatov (piano)Concert of the 13Mykola Suk (piano), USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Virko Baley